entrepreneurship is my life, and i love it more than anything; it's all i live/breathe/sleep, and i wouldn't have it any other way. the majority of truly successful entrepreneurs i have met would concur (i haven't quite gotten there yet).

would never even think about getting my mba; i did go to undergrad @ princeton however.

I recently left a job as a VC associate (spent a year there after MBA program) to join a venture-backed early stage startup as one of the 1st non-founding employees.

Here's where I think the MBA helped, and where it didn't, related to both jobs:

VC – where MBA helped
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1) Basic financial modeling and cap tables
2) Gave me the time and flexibility to do projects and internships for a variety of startups (especially in sectors where I didn't have strong background) and VC firms
3) Helped me get the job in the 1st place (alumni were very helpful in making introductions to firms, etc)
4) Access to some dealflow through alumni network
5) Had plenty of time to network and interview- if you're working full time, it is very hard to put in the (networking) time needed to land a VC job.

VC – where MBA didn't help
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1) Hustle – early stage VC work, particularly for junior staff, is about generating quality deal flow. You have to work hard, hustle, and be creative about how you find interesting companies. Frankly, it's a sales-like role. I would say this is even more true in later stage VC and buyout shops like Summit, TA, etc.
2) Pattern recognition – if you are looking at alot of deals, you need to develop the ability to quickly evaluate business plans and deals. This can only be gained by experience – internships are great and will give you some initial exposure but in reality you need to be in a full time VC role to hone this skill
3) Recruiting – most MBA programs don't have a structured recruiting process related to VC, and most VC firms don't have structured recruiting processes, either. Therefore, its totally up to you to get yourself networked into various firms.

Startup – where MBA helped
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(I'm only a few months in, but here's what sticks out so far…)

1) Financial modeling – useful when developing projections, operating plans, etc
2) Network – ability to reach out to alumni to get perspectives on current business challenges or for fundraising

Startup – where MBA doesn't help
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1) Hustle – Early stage startups are all about selling – selling your vision, selling to visionary early adopter customers, recruiting new employees, developing partnerships. This can be learned, but not in an MBA program.
2) Industry expertise – Several people have mentioned this before, but I'll chime in as well. Startups need people who can hit the ground running, and if you don't have industry experience, you're not going to be able to do that.
3) Debt – maybe you shoot for the higher paying job thats not as rewarding or aligned with your long term career goals because you have borrowed alot of money for your education